The Oklahoma Legislature has reached an impasse on the so-called sin industries of gambling and cigarettes.
Oklahoma House Minority Leader Scott Inman wants to expand video gaming, but his Republican constituents think he should put that idea in his pipe and smoke it.
Both the Oklahoma Senate and House are managed by the GOP, but that’sn’t stopping the minority party from blocking a tobacco cigarette tax increase proposed by House Republicans.
Democrats into the lower chamber are doing this in order to give their side leverage in ongoing spending plan negotiations, and their desires to expand gambling and allow tribal casinos to offer roulette and dice games.
Oklahoma lawmakers are searching for ways to close an $878 million financing gap. While Republicans can pass the budget of these choosing, they require a vote that is three-fourths raise smoke taxes, therefore the 26 Democrats within the 101-member House are not budging.
‘We’ve said all along that the cigarette taxation is really a Band-Aid on a bullet opening,’ Oklahoma House Minority Leader Scott Inman (D-District 94) told the Associated Press. ‘You’ve got to have additional revenue.’
This the House and Senate budget committees recommended a $1.50 per cigarette pack tax increase week 21 dukes casino bonus. To help make the budget whole with only that tariff hike, Oklahomans would require to purchase roughly 585.3 million packages of smokes.
GOP Extinguishes Gambling
Republican leaders in Oklahoma feel casinos are currently too accessible, and expanded gaming would result in additional societal that is negative.
‘I think we have too much gambling going on into the state,’ Senate President professional Tem Mike Schulz (R-District 38) opined this week. ‘ I think we have people who are investing milk and bread money in a casino in place of using care of their young ones.’
Democrats proposed a plan that claims to build $400 million over the next year. The minority recommended a $17,000 cap on itemized income tax deductions for citizens, the restoration of the earned income tax credit, eliminating oil and gas production incentives, and expanding tribal gaming in addition to the cigarette tax.
The casino component would have permitted tribes to supply non-house-banked table games like roulette and craps in return for 10 % of the monthly net win. It also needed the legalization of sports betting should the existing federal ban be repealed.
With Democrats refusing to budge on cigarettes, and Republicans standing firm on maintaining gambling as is, the Oklahoma Legislature has now reached a spending plan stalemate.
Pennsylvania’s Smoking Gun
While the Oklahoma Legislature is expected to put on unique budget sessions to iron out its distinctions over gambling and smoking, a bipartisan bill in Pennsylvania seeks to outlaw cigarettes in gambling enterprises and watering holes.
Pennsylvania House Bill 1309 will expand regarding the state’s 2008 Indoor that is clean Air to get rid of exemptions for gambling venues and bars. Casinos are permitted to designate a portion of these floors to smoking, and taverns that report 20 percent or less of their revenue comes from food can allow patrons to puff.
With 18 bill sponsors that includes Democrats and Republicans, HB 1309 seems to function as the very first gaming-related measure to possess across-the-aisle support in Harrisburg in 2010. The state is considering a bunch of gaming expansion bills to finance its very own growing budget deficit.
Trump Taj Mahal, Built for $1.2 Billion in 1990, Sold for $50 Million in 2017
The former Trump Taj Mahal was sold in March to Hard Rock Overseas for $50 million, a massive discount on what it are priced at to build the Atlantic City property more than a quarter-century ago in 1990.
Hard Rock will spend as much as $400 million rebranding and renovating the former Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, or seven times what it paid for the resort that is actual. (Image: Wayne Parry/Associated Press)
Throughout the country’s history, real estate has typically been a relatively safe investment that’s came back strong returns for homeowners, in addition to developers.
That is changed, of course, in modern times following the recession that is economic hit the united states in 2008 and 2009. The reality that is new no more evident than in the valuation of the Trump Taj Mahal.
Dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder worldwide’ when it launched 27 years ago, billionaire Carl Icahn unloaded the resort, which he closed final October after failing in the future to new labor terms with casino workers, for the gravely discounted price of $50 million. That equates to lower than a nickel in the dollar in comparison to what Trump and their financiers paid.
The complex Rock acquisition was announced in March, but financial regards to the deal were not made public until papers filed because of the US Securities and Exchange Commission had been revealed this week.
Icahn Folds
Along with his vast estate that is real hotel profile, Trump has credited their casino dealings for helping build his unknown fortune.
The president that is 45th ties with Atlantic City in 2009, though he maintained a tiny stake in the Trump Taj Mahal by way of a certification agreement until this past year.
Icahn, a close buddy to the commander-in-chief, acquired the last remaining Trump Entertainment Resorts home in bankruptcy in early 2016. At the time associated with buyout, he called the Taj Mahal a signature Atlantic City property. Fast-forward 13 months, while the billionaire reveals the investment cost him $350 million.
A contentious dispute between Icahn and the Unite Here neighborhood 54 workers union over a wage increase as well as the restoration of benefits led the corporate raider to shutter the Taj Mahal and put thousands out of work.
Rewriting ‘Art associated with contract’
Though most are saying the Seminole Tribe, which owns the Hard Rock brand, essentially rewrote the ‘Art regarding the contract,’ Trump’s signature book, by buying the formerly valued $1.2 billion resort for just $50 million, the bargain price comes with its share that is fair of.
The company also assumes the Taj’s massive property tax bill in addition to Hard Rock saying it will spend up to $400 million in rebranding and renovating the resort. Atlantic City officials have the location valued at over $224 million, an assessment that Icahn has repeatedly appealed.
Hard Rock will be forced to begin participating in the state’s PILOT system (payment in place of taxes) that mandates the city’s remaining casinos jointly remit a $120 million disbursement that is annual local government rather than paying on gaming revenue.
The Seminoles will additionally be on the hook for the resort’s property taxes. The Florida Native American group should only expect you’ll see those tariffs enhance, as Atlantic City will likely raise its $224 million valuation because the tribe dumps billions of bucks into the Boardwalk facility.
Did Chinese Authorities Publish Significant DDoS Attacks on Hong Kong Online Gambling Sites?
Scores of online gambling web sites based in Hong Kong had been battered by a wave of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in the week of April, according to US-based Arbor protection, which monitors the web for DDoS attack data.
For seven days at the beginning of April, Hong Kong became the ground zero of DDoS attacks through the entire world, but why? (Image: HackRead)
Between April 6 and 13, hackers apparently located in China flooded the bandwidth of countless gambling sites having a massive influx of traffic, knocking them offline.
The occasions were striking and unusual, according to Arbor, because for those a week Hong Kong was the top location in the entire world for such attacks, a dubious honor always reserved for the United States.
Extortion Suspected
It absolutely was also noteworthy, said Arbor, because ‘country-level activity’ frequently denotes motivation that is geopolitical i.e, attacks directed so intently at internet sites of a solitary territory is an indication of cyber warfare arranged on a state-level. It is an idea, however, that Kirk Soluk, supervisor of the company’s threat intelligence team, rules out.
‘…the emergence of numerous, different gambling/gaming objectives leads us to trust that DDoS extortion is the most likely motivation,’ he concluded in a web log on the Arbor website this week.
It’s a conclusion that is reasonable. After all, hackers have sought to hold online gambling websites to ransom since the very early days of the industry.
Sports gambling web sites are particularly susceptible because they are hopelessly reliant on major sports for big chunks of these revenues and may be have little choice but to pay a ransom that is small intentionally targeted during these periods.
Serious Punishment Promised
But we wonder how up to date Arbor is on Chinese gambling regulatory issues. Most likely not at all, and why should it be?
Does it know, as an example, that the first of the Hong Kong assaults came simply five days after Asia’s Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun promised ‘severe punishment’ for gambling operators targeting Chinese citizens on the mainland?
And does it know that the only legal and certified Hong Kong-based online operator may be the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), and for that reason any other online gambling site based in Hong Kong is unlicensed and the best target for the Chinese government? In fact, in accordance with a statement by the HKJC in 2014, unlicensed operators have links to organized crime and therefore unlawful on line gambling is akin to a ‘blood crime.’
Of course, the nature of DDoS attacks means they could have already been orchestrated from any place in the world and attackers were simply harnessing devices that are internet-connected within China.
Or they are able to have come from within Asia, orchestrated by the government, which had motivation that is little disguise the origin. We may never understand.
Poker Player Bets He Can Eat $1,000 of McDonald’s Food in 36 Hours
Poker player Mike Noori is a man whom likes to place his cash where his lips is. But the real million-dollar concern is, can he put $1,000 of McDonald’s food in his mouth, then chew it, and swallow it, and start digesting it, all within 36-hours?
Not Lovin’ It: Two-time LA Poker Vintage champ Mike Noori may have to consume at the least 66,000 calories in 36 hours if he has the opportunity of winning this reverse weight-loss bet. (Image: LAPC)
People think it’s impossible. Almost everyone agrees that it’s stupid.
Noori is getting 5:1 on a bet proposed to him by renowned tournament director Matt Savage. As the figure that is exact on Noori’s success is undisclosed, Noori said on Twitter that so far that more than $200,000 has already been scheduled in the idea wager, but merely a small slice of the is his money.
‘This is impossible,’ declared fellow poker pro and food that is aspiring Jimmy Fricke (JimmyEatsVegas.com) in the twoplustwo poker forums. ‘ If he eats the calorie/dollar food that is lowest available (southwest grilled chicken salad) this is still 66,000 calories.’
‘It can be carried out,’ another poster countered. ’20,000 calories a time combined with workout is already something many men do in training. It is not easy but if he exercised throughout and had little rests it could help significantly.’
1,500 Apples Slices
Like all gamblers that are good Noori certainly has a casino game plan. He’s opting to start off with $500-worth of apple slices, then $200 in salads, with bacon, cheese and add-ons that are guacamole.
These dollar amounts on apple slices and salads were set as caps included in the conditions associated with the bet.
With bags of apple pieces selling at a dollar each, and three slices in each bag, that’s still a body-punishing 1,500 apple slices Noori would need to consume before he even thinking in regards to the weightier burgers.
No Blenders?
And yes, there will be burgers. It’s written into the rules, which state that $300 must be used on ‘hot foodstuffs,’ of which at least $50 should be burgers. Other demands are that Noori ‘must eat precisely what comes with the order (except the Happy Meal toy),’ and ‘no blenders.’
The rules that are official state that ‘Puking is OK as long as he doesn’t force the puke or puke over repeatedly.’ Indeed, safety first.
Gamblers have done notoriously foolish things for money through the years. In 2014 Freddy Torres agreed to jump into a shark-filled tank for $1,000. In 2011, Ashton Griffin won a bet that he couldn’t run 70 miles in one single time for a treadmill machine. He attempted the feat while hungover as well as on extremely small rest, but prevailed and had been $350,000 richer once he finally reached the finish of the treadmill.
In 2010, Ted Forrest notably put his wellness at risk by losing more than 70 pounds in a year. However it was all for a good cause, winning $2 million from Mike Matusow.
Then there was that guy whom had the boob work.
But Noori’s weight-loss bet in reverse might be one of the more foolhardy and dangerous of the lot. And that’s exactly why we’re praying he pulls it well, or at minimum doesn’t choke on a french fry.
FBI Director Comey Fired by Trump, Online Gambling Maybe Safer Than In The Past
James Comey has been relieved of his duties as director of the FBI. Some proponents of online gambling are breathing a sigh of relief while the world wrestles with implications of this unprecedented dismissal. As the nation’s leaders search for a replacement amid a swath of critical issues facing the world, the belief is that online gambling, as a political issue, will remain out of the Trump administration’s crosshairs. At minimum temporarily.
Us americans desire to know if President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey as retribution for a research into possible links between Russia and his presidential campaign. (Images: Reuters)
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump suddenly terminated Comey, citing shortcomings in handling the probe of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her use of a email server that is private. This came less than per day following the American public started emphasizing new revelations from a Congressional investigation into Russia’s so-called interference within the 2016 presidential election.
Comey has critics on both edges associated with the aisle, and requires his termination have already been regular since late October, when he sent a letter to Congress about a need certainly to examine extra Clinton emails, which ultimately revealed nothing of substance.
‘The FBI is certainly one of our nation’s most cherished and respected institutions, and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of police force,’ Trump explained in a public statement from the White House. The president told Comey that he could not any longer ‘effectively lead’ the FBI and said ‘new leadership that restores trust that is public self- confidence’ had been required.
Trump happens to be tasked with finding a replacement, one who will be authorized with a GOP-controlled Senate. And although Republicans have supported efforts to displace the Wire Act, online gambling industry experts have time that is hard any new FBI boss making a popular recreational pursuit a pressing issue of your day.
Anti-Online Gambling Swamp
When Trump arrived in Washington, internet gambling and online poker players had been justly worried throughout the future lawfulness of the companies they access from their homes and mobile devices. Especially as his appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicated interest in looking into the legality of current intrastate online gambling measures.
The 45th commander-in-chief notoriously ran multiple New Jersey casinos into bankruptcy, yet one of his true campaign donors that are largest was Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson. The owner of the Venetian, Palazzo, and a slew of casino properties throughout the world has been on a self-described crusade that is moral 2014 to ‘restore the Wire Act,’ which would effectively outlaw online casino gambling and poker.
So far, neither Trump’s administration nor Congress has shown interest that is much tackling the legality of on line gambling. The topic did however come up, from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. Carolina) during confirmation hearings for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said he was ‘shocked’ at the Department of Justice’s 2011 opinion that clarified an interpretation that is legal of Wire Act as only deciding on activities betting.
Hold’em by the Short Hairs?
This opinion might be easily reversed by the DOJ, however. So whoever’s next to just take the helm of the FBI could possibly be instructed to deploy the agency’s full resources toward stopping on line gambling in most its forms.
Graham has worked on behalf of Adelson to introduce the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) in previous calendar years. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a strong critic of comey, has done equivalent in his chamber.
RAWA has didn’t gain momentum in Congress, but additionally wasn’t dismissed outright as a possibility that is legislative. Chaffetz recently announced his intent to possibly leave Congress prior to the end of his current term.
The FBI and Its Long Arm On The Web Gaming Reach
2011 The DOJ and FBI changed the face of online gaming in America following the agencies seized internet domains from PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, amongst others, on what would become known as ‘Black Friday’ in the poker world that is online. By shutting down these web sites, players had been denied usage of their funds for decades, though eventual payoffs have finally occurred for PokerStars and Full Tilt players, and lately, Absolute Poker.
2014 A flawed FBI raid of an alleged World Cup sports wagering procedure at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas allowed suspected ringleader Paul Phua to duck a possible prison phrase. High-profile attorney David Chesnoff argued that the raid represented entrapment for his customer, and all charges were dropped by the prosecution.
2017 The FBI and DOJ investigated and successfully prosecuted notorious activities bettor Billy Walters on charges of insider trading. Walters, who was discovered responsible of utilizing a stock tip provided by former Dean Foods Chairman Tom Davis, is appealing the conviction. Pro golfer Phil Mickelson was also linked to the debate after investing in the company that is same. The 42-time PGA Tour champion admitted his sports gambling pal supplied the advice that is financial but claimed he had been unaware it was obtained fraudulently. Mickelson returned his profits and was never charged.
